


The Devil Files - Box 3

by Melethril



Series: Reverence For Life [7]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Episode: s05e06 The Eyes Have It, Episode: s05e07 The Performer, Episode: s05e12 The Uncanny Valley, Episode: s05e13 Risky Business, Episode: s05e14 Parasite, Episode: s05e16 Mosley Lane, Episode: s05e19 A Rite of Passage, Episode: s05e20 A Thousand Words, Episode: s05e21 Exit Wounds, Gen, While nothing explicit - this is Criminal Minds so expect dark themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:48:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26445151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melethril/pseuds/Melethril
Summary: Lucifer has joined the BAU a year ago and continues to help solving cases.The Devil Files will contain everything from short snippets to longer one-shots.Series
Relationships: Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV) & The BAU Team
Series: Reverence For Life [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1482401
Comments: 216
Kudos: 269





	1. s5e6 The Eyes Have It

**Author's Note:**

> So these coming episodes will be difficult, because they are different from the show. In the show, Morgan is the temporary chief of the unit, and the Foyet arc is ongoing, so Hotch is uncommonly unstable. Furthermore, Morgan has this ‘secret’ relationship with Tamara, the sister of a victim, which didn’t happen here. The team is under far less stress altogether, so… I’ll just focus on the cases for now…. I am split about this because I liked Acting Unit Chief Morgan, but I’m glad nobody is traumatized… But, if you haven’t watched the episode, the ending between Morgan and Garcia is one of my favorites :)
> 
> This particular episode gave me a bit of trouble to insert Lucifer, so snippet it is...

_The Haunter in the Dark._

Aaron had read that particular Lovecraft book in his youth, and he remembered misreading the title for ‘Hunter in the Dark.’ He was reminded of that tonight when Lucifer stepped out of the house belonging to one of Earl Bolford’s clients. Time was of the essence, but Lucifer’s steps were almost relaxed. He was silent and seemed to utterly disappear into the night becoming a part of the eerie atmosphere.

“There you are,” he muttered.

“His soul is that distinct?” asked Aaron, surprised, knowing that Lucifer’s way of screening for specific souls was, if not limited, then certainly kept under a tight grip.

“No,” scoffed Lucifer. “But there is something to the step of a human hunting humans that is rather telling. And he’s got prey in sight.”

“Go,” said Aaron, trusting the devil not to rip Earl Bolford to shreds. It was better if Lucifer interfered now than having someone else mutilated or killed because they were not following procedure. He would explain it to Strauss one way or another. Before his permission faded into the night, he was alone.

“Hotch?”

“Lucifer found him,” said he to Morgan. “Let’s spread out.”

They ultimately did not have to because a piercing shriek echoed through the dark and they ran toward the sound.

“Oh God, he’s got another,” said Lt. Brantley and he raced right alongside them.

When they arrived, it was Early Bulford cowering in a corner by the construction site where he had waited of his next victim. A woman – the presumed victim – was standing close by, in hysterics as adrenaline pumped through her veins.

Emily cautiously approached her, introduced herself and called for an ambulance while guiding her away.

Detecting Lucifer was a challenge. He had to be there, Aaron knew it, but the darkness clouded his presence so well, the unit chief still startled when the devil’s deep, threatening voice was heard not five feet away from the team.

“Those like you are a dime a dozen,” said the devil, sounding almost bored. “Those who kill to take and violate. Our approach to the likes of you is always the same: like you took and plucked, so will we take and pluck from you. What would you prefer: ravens, vultures, hot pokers or vinegar? We do go medieval on those like you. And, just for the fun of it, the ones handling the pokers are blind, too, so they usually don’t quite hit the right spot.”

Early Bulford, a man who had killed five and gouged out the eyes of four people, was nothing but a nervous wreck in a corner whimpering nonsense.

“Fine,” growled Lucifer irritably. “All of the above then. Oh, and Deino, Enyo and Pemphredo are always grateful for some eyes, I might just call on them.”

With that he walked away, disgusted.

Earl Bulford did not dare open his eyes after that. In fact, he did not look at anyone again. By the time they were on the jet back to Quantico, after making sure the eyes would be cremated together with the rest of Bina Sokarto’s body as the family had asked, news broke that Bulford had broken free and used a pencil to stab one of his eyes out. They found him not ten minutes later barely able to keep him from mutilating his other eye. He was currently in the hospital after hemorrhaging as a result of his self-inflicted wounds. When Aaron told the team, Lucifer smirked.

“Foolish human thinking that’ll prevent his punishment. He merely started early.”

“Yikes,” said Emily. “Don’t get me wrong, I do think he should absolutely receive your taste of judgment, but that’s quite _graphic_ , even for you.”

“He hunted innocents,” said Lucifer flatly. “For that, he deserves neither consideration nor mercy. I don’t have a problem with predators hunting their rightful prey, but humans hunting humans must be punished.”

“Well then,” said JJ cheerfully smiling at Lucifer. “Let’s all agree that the night is much less scary knowing that _the_ top predator is on your side.”

Lucifer’s reaction to that statement was unexpected. He did not say ‘ _Oh, I’m a very enthusiastic bottom as well, Agent Jareau’_ or ‘ _such a human thing, ranking predators, especially when humans are the most successful and predatory species on Earth.’_ Instead, he was very still, and Aaron suddenly remembered how Lucifer had once mentioned malice that was present long before humans existed, malice capable of threatening the archangel Michael.

David noticed it, too, “Are there other Apex predators out there, then?”

Lucifer said nothing at first before he answered, “My dear friends, I have the highest respect for you, but you don’t want to pursue this line of questioning. Trust me on this.”

Something very primal in Aaron whimpered and the unit chief decided to follow the devil’s advice. The rest of the team had similar reactions, Reid curling into himself and Morgan frowning like he did whenever he was utterly unnerved. David met Aaron’s gaze, his eyes wide and alarmed.

For the first time in Aaron’s recent memory did he truly and consciously decide that he did not actually want to know the answer to David’s pointed and important question. All he had to know was that Lucifer was not the only hunter in the dark. Whatever Lovecraftian horror awaited a celestial, humans had no hope of even entertaining the thought without going mad.


	2. s05e07 The Performer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The BAU returns to LA soon than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This episode dealt with schizophrenia and mental illness. Schizophrenia is highly complex and I do not possess a major in psychology. The representation of schizophrenia does not go beyond what the characters say and portray in that particular episode, so we are talking an individual that is diagnosed as a ‘schizophrenic vampirist.’ Furthermore, another character appears to be battling depression and has a history with drug abuse, although it is not further specified and only hinted at. Again, I am not an expert in this. Here, I go with the character we were presented with and this is by no means intended to generally represent anyone suffering from similar issues.  
> If any of these themes upset you, consider skipping this chapter.
> 
> Show-wise there is an amazing coincidence: Season 1 of Criminal Minds had a stalker case in LA with a Detective Owen Kim. In Season 5 of Criminal Minds, he’s Lieutenant Owen Kim. The precinct appears to be very Hollywood and you might know my headcanon that the Lucifer precinct is the homicide division of the West Bureau and often deals with the high and mighty of Hollywood. So… same precinct  This is very cool.

“Our next case is in Los Angeles,” said JJ.

Derek’s shoulders slumped at that announcement. Of all places to go to, why did it have to be LA?

“Please, tell me it’s not the West Bureau,” said Rossi, obviously thinking along the same lines as Derek.

JJ’s expression was full of regret and Derek sighed.

“LA,” smiled Lucifer, unperturbed by the room’s less than enthusiastic response. “Excellent. I haven’t seen Delilah in a while, and then I can meet up with Maze and Dr. Linda.”

JJ smiled at the devil’s unconcerned response, “Our presence has been requested by Lieutenant Owen Kim.”

“Lieutenant?” repeated Derek, surprised. “He got promoted?”

“Yes,” confirmed Hotch before addressing Emily and Rossi who had not met the man yet. “We met then-Detective Owen Kim during a stalker case four years ago. LAPD has the policy that you need to work in more than one division in order to be eligible to head your own department, so right after that, he left West Bureau and worked with Detective Support and Vice for two years before switching to the Gang and Narcotics division and he was in the Juvenile Division when he was promoted and ultimately asked to take over for Police Chief Monroe when she vacated her position.”

“She okay with us being there?” asked Emily, frowning. “It’s not like she was too happy with us a month ago.”

“Apparently, everything that happened here triggered a chain of events that uncovered a case of corruption that has been plaguing her former department for years. She even means to send us a fruit basket,” said Hotch. “Two actually: one as a thank you, another as an apology.”

“You cannot blame her for Detective Decker’s actions,” said Lucifer calmly. “She hardly had a hand in any of that.”

“But she protected Decker to cover her own ass and we can absolutely criticize her for that,” said Derek. He respected Monroe, but he was not happy about how things went down after that.

“JJ, the case,” reminded them Hotch and they were briefed about 20-year-old Tara Ferris, the third victim in two weeks. Death by blunt-force trauma to the head and subsequent draining of the blood.

“Hm,” said Lucifer when the pictures lit up on screen. “Must have been a pointy weapon hitting the jugular. The area would be much bloodier if it had hit the artery and fang marks rip into flesh and thus the wound would be much larger.”

“Right,” said JJ, her eyes a bit wide. “They found that the injury was covered in saliva. It’s currently being processed by forensics, specifically Ella Lopez, if you remember her from last year’s case. They should get the first results by the time we arrive.”

“Saliva? Are we talking about an UnSub who’s drinking blood?” asked Rossi and before Reid could launch into a detailed explanation on the blood-drinking habits of humans Hotch halted the discussion because they needed to catch that plane.

Lucifer was the last one to join them because he had to organize his absence from Astra and he therefore missed Reid’s explanation of what a vampirist was, that the UnSub was likely a schizophrenic vampirist and that this was not the same as a ‘classic cannibal’ and really, Rossi was right, their job truly was lovely.

When the devil entered the plane, there was really only one question left to ask.

“I know this one is probably human,” said Rossi. “As you noted, a tool was used and not a bite, but… vampires. Real or not?”

“Not the way you might think,” answered Lucifer. “There are no Bram Stoker or Anne Rice or Stephenie Meyer vampires here on this Earth.” That was a weird way to phrase things. “Revenants are rare. Most of the time, the stories floating around had more to do with medicine not being advanced enough to properly diagnose that someone was dead. There is no such thing, here, as a human turned revenant.” Again with the strange phrasing; it made Derek suspicious. “However, certain fae and other companions of the old gods are known not to stay ‘dead’ and some of them lived near and with humans for centuries. Non-corporal dark faeries have possessed humans in the past. I’m not surprised that almost every culture on Earth remembers these times, if only through legend. Mix that with real human conditions and voilà, werewolves and vampires suddenly become a thing.”

“Okay, on that note, let’s focus on the human UnSub,” muttered Emily. “So, the attacker confronted our victim, bashing her head in, meaning they most likely attacked the victim head-on. No sign of a break-in and it was night. Did the victim know the attacker?”

“That is very likely,” chimed in Reid. “Vampirists are coveters. They may only tangentially know the victim, but there must be a connection.”

“Yeah, but there’s a big difference between tangentially knowing a victim and letting them into your apartment at night. Friend or lover is the only option,” said Emily. “She’s a 20-year old college student living alone. She’d never take the risk of letting in a stranger so late at night.”

“Good point,” acknowledged Hotch. “We’ll look into that. Alright, Garcia, what do you know about vampires in LA?”

_“There’s a gigantic subculture of the blood-drinking ‘undead’_ ,” said she through the speaker quoting and unquoting ‘undead.’ _“Since our lovely devil here just denied the existence of the real thing, I assume there’s nothing supernatural going on there.”_

“There are overlaps with BDSM, so Maze has quite strong ties to the subculture. She was quite delighted to discover it, actually. Me personally, my name itself is an invitation to some of their more exclusive, adult clubs and we’ve had a lot of fun at these parties, but the vampire subculture is often dominated by children, so really, my connection to LA vampires is mostly limited to very specific clubs. LA’s current vampire overlord, Sybille Giles, she’s more connected, but I doubt she’ll know a 20-year-old college student.”

_“Sybille Giles,”_ muttered Garcia typing already. _“I haven’t come across the name.”_

“She’s a very private person, so I’m not surprised. Her stage name is Tatiana. She owns three of LA’s most prestigious vampire clubs and is well-connected to the BDSM scene. I have her number.”

That was code for former lover. Lucifer respected his lovers’ privacy and never outright admitted to being with them in order to make sure he did not divulge information they did not want to go to the public. However, they had worked with the devil long enough to recognize his codes.

“Call her,” said Hotch. “Any lead at this point is appreciated.”

When they arrived, they were warmly greeted by Lieutenant Kim who gave them a quick rundown of the case, and just before they split up, Ms. Lopez entered.

“Hi,” said she cheerfully. “I’ve got something.”

“Already?” asked Kim surprised. “That’s impressive.”

“Yeah, you see,” said she excitedly, “there’s been this report about forensic sex determination by Raman spectroscopy. It’s kind of related to similar principles of fluorescence microscopy. In fact-“

“Ms. Lopez,” smiled the lieutenant gently. “Please.”

“Right, so, our UnSub is likely female. I’ve yet to confirm it by immunoassays and PCR, but at this point, I’m 95% sure that the saliva donor is female.”

“Any chance of contamination with the victim’s DNA?” asked Reid. “And are you referring to the Muro study? That hasn’t been published yet.”

“Yes, but they presented their findings at a conference and I’m trying it out. That’s why I need to confirm it first, but I thought it might help your profile.”

“It really does, thank you,” said Reid before his eyes were back on the whiteboard, engrossed in thought.

“Yeah, then… Back to the lab.” She shrugged her shoulders awkwardly and was on her way out before Hotch called her back.

“Outstanding work,” said he, which was warmly confirmed by Lieutenant Kim.

“I know it’s not your fault and all,” said Ella Lopez, fingering her cross. “And it’s wrong of me to be less-than-generous with you guys, but…”

She did not finish her sentence because Lucifer had entered the room, his phone by his ear, “Thank you, darling. I’ll see you soon.” He pocketed the phone, smiled at Lopez recognizing her. “Ms. Lopez, how are you?”

Ms. Lopez bit her lips, “Did you want any of that to happen? Because I like you and I like Chloe. And I don’t like feeling this conflicted.”

“I assure you, Ms. Lopez, that I had no desire for the detective to do what she did.”

“Ella, Lucifer is the victim here,” said Emily who had developed a bit of a bond with the forensic scientist the last time they saw her.

“I know,” said she, “that’s what’s so confusing. Chloe isn’t like that. She’s a great cop and she’s nice and I don’t know why she…“ Her voice trailed off.

She looked so unhappy that Derek felt actual sympathy for her. He felt none for Decker, but he felt sympathy for Ms. Lopez.

“She was afraid,” said Lucifer. “She was afraid of losing control.”

“So she drugged you?”

Derek had no idea what the official story was at the LAPD precinct.

“I’m not a harmless kitten, Ms. Lopez,” said Lucifer. “Detective Decker knew that and wished to pluck my claws.”

Nice metaphor; Lucifer had obviously noticed the same problem and decided to stay ambivalent about what exactly Decker had done.

“Ms. Lopez,” said Lieutenant Kim. “We should continue with our case.”

“Okay, sure,” said Ms. Lopez. “Give Penelope my best, will you? She totally owes me that promised trip to Camelot.”

“Will do,” said Derek with a grin. His babygirl loved her online multiplayer fantasy games. It was great when she met real-life friends through that, and Ella Lopez appeared to be a faithful friend, even when things were not easy. He respected that.

As soon as she was out of the room, Kim said, “I’m not going to lie to you. We’re grateful for your presence, but this whole department is pretty shaken with both Chloe and Dan being sacked.”

“You know them well?” asked Rossi.

“Known Dan since he joined the department in ’07. I joined only six months beforehand. Good cop, down-to-earth even with our most glamorous cases. He treated everyone equally and I appreciated that. Excellent team-player. Chloe was a star here. Quite literally actually, her clearance rate was off the charts and her connections to Hollywood were extremely helpful.” He paused. “But then she made the right call on that corruption case I’m sure you heard about and nobody believed her. Her clearance rate started to drop last year, possibly as a result of the hazing she received after Palmetto. You know how it is.” He sighed. “There’s a reason I avoided IA on the roster. Would have lowered my chances of being accepted as head of the department. The brass likes to see it on the resumé, though.”

“Given the corruption that happened here, internal affairs certainly would benefit from more capable officers,” said Lucifer thoughtfully.

With this final statement, they actually set to work. Thanks to Ella’s quick analysis, they narrowed down the suspect list to women ultimately singling out Gina King, Tara’s friend. When Derek and JJ went to check out her house: a rundown, badly maintained house owned by Cynthia King and her granddaughter Gina. They found Cynthia King to be recently deceased and Gina quite distraught when they caught her storing several pints of blood. What followed could not be called an interrogation. It was impossible not to feel sorry for the deeply disturbed woman, and Derek was kind of glad that Lucifer had not accompanied them and instead decided to meet with Tatiana, while the rest met up with a Paul Davies, also known as Dante, the only thing that connected all victims, as well as Gina.

Lucifer was not fond of cases where the guilty party suffered from severe mental disorders; he usually just hoped that the actions they caught them for did not tip the balance too much; with three people dead as a blood-sacrifice to Vampire God Dante before joining him with the undead probably broke the balance.

“Do you like kittens?” asked Derek before he remembered what Reid had said about animal abuse, thus instantly regretting the question.

Gina started crying, “I didn’t mean to hurt them.” Her sobs did not cease until they delivered her at the precinct.

“I hope Lucifer has some other ideas for that one,” said Emily looking about as distraught as Derek felt. “Bastet probably wouldn’t appreciate her nibbling at her kittens.”

Derek sighed, “Perhaps she won’t have that urge after death.” He would not risk it, though, if he were Lucifer. “I don’t know. Perhaps she’ll go to Loki’s section. And didn’t Lucifer say that sometimes these souls are forgiven? It’ll be fine. What bugs me is that she’s not organized enough to do this on her own.”

“Agreed,” said Emily thoughtfully.

They mentioned their suspicions to the rest of the team who had met up with Davies at a Dante event, but they had no evidence and Gina was too far gone to help them identify anyone that might have urged her to commit these crimes. Without her actually pointing the finger at ‘Dante’, they had nothing.

Reid at least managed to calm her down a little with his sweet temper and experience, but unfortunately, it was not enough. Lucifer looked very unhappy when they all looked at him.

“I cannot guarantee an answer,” was all he said before entering the interrogation room. The Lightbringer’s influence brought instant results. The look Gina gave him was one of sheer terror.

“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t hurt me. You are _him_ , aren’t you? Dante’s Highlord, his Sire.”

“No,” answered Lucifer quietly. “I’m not and I’m not going to hurt you. Ms. King, I-“

Her expression shifted and a cry of utter despair escaped her, “Oh, no, Tara, I’m so sorry. I’m so-so sorry. He told me you would return. He told me we could join Dante with the undead together. He promised me you would, Tara. He lied. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Forgive me, please.”

“Who?” asked Lucifer compelling her to answer thus calming her down temporarily so that her answer was almost lucid between sobs.

“He who stands by Dante’s side always, his helper, his minion.”

“Thank you, Ms. King,” said Lucifer before leaving the room quickly, letting Reid calm her down further. “Agent Rossi, you were the one to talk to his manager. Mr. Davies doesn’t have many sycophants left in his life. What was your impression of him?”

_Yikes._

Lucifer had a problem with Davies, it seemed.

“Nothing out of the ordinary, but then he was very busy organizing that Dante event. His reaction to the deaths connected to his artists was a little cold,“ he added thoughtfully. “But nothing out of the ordinary for someone trying to safe his career.”

“Perfect,” said Lucifer, “then we get to see them again.”

“He’s right,” said Lieutenant Kim entering the room as he pocketed his phone. “A waitress at the Dante event last night was reported missing by her boss.”

“JJ, Dave, you go back to Gina’s house. If Dante or Ray Campion, his manager, are involved, this is where we will find them. Lucifer, Morgan, Prentiss, the three of you will revisit Mr. Davies. Reid and I will contact Mr. Camion.”

They all left with Lieutenant Kim accompanying JJ and Rossi.

“Spill,” said Morgan in the car.

“Hm?” asked Lucifer.

“What’s your problem with the guy?”

“Mr. Davies? Apart from the fact the vampire community isn’t fun of him appropriating their life-style without actually living it?” said Lucifer stiffly. Derek remained silent. He knew the devil would elaborate if he just waited long enough.

“Delilah came to LA six years ago,” said Lucifer. “She had talent but no connections and that can make your life very difficult. By coincidence and after months of disappointed hopes, she managed to gain access to a meet-up. The most famous person present at that party was Paul Davies. It was right before he fell from grace with a mediocre album leading to a three-year hiatus and his switch from more classic heavy metal to gothic rock. Anyway, she approached him because she wanted to get tips on how to make it in the industry.”

“My guess is, he wasn’t a gentleman about it,” said Derek.

“According to her, he was more polite than most people she had met at the time,” said Lucifer, “but his response was still along the lines of ‘there’s nothing special about a pretty little thing like you’ and ‘you better go back to waiting my table, girl’ whether or not he said it outright.”

That explained Lucifer’s reaction, at least. He was nothing if not exceedingly protective of Delilah.

“Was that before or after you two met?” asked Derek.

“Two weeks later, she came to my club for the first time. I had just opened it the day before. I’d finished my set when she approached me, genuinely praising the performance without any need or want beyond that. We talked about her desires and then we played a set together. After that, she became a fixture at my club.”

“So, technically,” said Emily, “without Dante, Delilah may never have entered your club.”

“I wouldn’t say that. She would have come regardless… I think,” frowned Lucifer. “I hope.”

Derek’s phone rang.

“Yeah, Hotch?”

_“It was the manager. JJ and Rossi caught him as he dragged Ms. Hickman’s heavily drugged body toward where Gina had stored her blood. He was also the one disposing of the bodies. His car is currently being processed, but he already confessed to everything.”_

“What about Dante?”

_“It’s unlikely he was involved, but that will be the subject of our investigation from now on.”_

They arrived at Dante’s beautifully situated mansion. They also identified Erin’s car, which was enough probable cause from them to force their entry into his house.

They found Mr. Davies drugged out on his bed. When their presence violently woke him up, he lost all contents of his stomach into the sink. Lucifer’s facial expression was one of disgust. He looked around quickly finding all the hidden drugs (and would have pocketed some of them if Morgan had not cleared his throat warningly. He pouted in response before bagging them as they had taught him).

When they confronted him with the evidence of what had happened the past three weeks, he was genuinely shocked.

“Is Erin okay?” was the first question that came out of his mouth. “She, the girl, from last night.”

“She’s high, dazed, bruised and scared,” said Derek, “but she’s unharmed.”

“Thank God,” exclaimed Davies.

“Really?” scoffed Lucifer, but Davies did not seem to hear him. The drugs seemed to have cleared out of his system enough for him to seem lucid, and he continued, “She’s not in trouble, is she? For the, I mean, I’m the one that got busted. She’s not…”

“She lost her job because she left the party early,” said Emily coldly. “And I’m not sure if I buy your reaction, Mr. Davies. The deaths of your fans did not seem to particularly bother you.”

“But why would he?” said Lucifer, his eyes just a shade darker than usual. “After all they’re just _‘desperate, sad people with, at best, a tenuous hold reality.’_ ”

“Damn, he published that?” muttered Davies while he was getting dressed.

“Jeff’s a very honest journalist,” said Lucifer. “You asked him not to quote you on this and he won’t, but he’s an old friend of Delilah whom he informed about the less-than-stellar impression he had of you and she told me since I asked her about Dante. LA’s a small town. Gossip travels fast and I know about it all.”

“Delilah… Curtis?” he frowned. “I thought she stepped out of the limelight.”

“She has, she’s now the manager of Lux,” said Lucifer.

“I knew her before,” said Davies quietly, a bit detached, and Derek was not sure if this was from the nausea or shock. “Unforgettable voice. She sang at a party years before she was famous. Incredibly talented but green. I… wasn’t very kind to her that night. I wanted to warn her about the toxic environment that is stardom here, but it came out all wrong. I regret that. Will you send her my apologies next time you see her? I did not wish to hurt or discourage her.”

Lucifer’s expression softened slightly, “Tell her yourself. Tonight, at Lux. Hurt her again and you’ll learn that vampires stand no chance against the devil.” That last part was spoken quietly, almost gently and it sent shivers down Derek’s spine. “And sober up. Get help. I can give you recommendations, but don’t you dare approach Delilah beyond an apology as long as you’re in this state.”

“Before we do any of that,” said Emily, “we need to bring you to the station for a statement. You’ll face charges for the drugs, but with your level of fame, you’ll get away with it. If your statement is considerate enough, Ms. Hickman won’t face charges.”

* * *

As Lucifer predicted and Emily promised, by nightfall, they were ready to pack things up and leave. JJ organized the flight for 11 PM, so that Lucifer would have time to reconnect with Delilah and perform alongside her.

Their reunion was kind of cute with them hugging tightly and Lucifer treating her very similarly to how he reacted to Jophiel and Raphael giving Derek the distinct impression that Lucifer had quasi-adopted the singer. Delilah then greeted them with all the dignity and elegance of a naturally born hostess and made sure they had the best seats in the house. The whole staff was thrilled to welcome back Lucifer, several of them abandoning their tasks half-way just to say hello. Mr. Davies arrived soon after and without makeup, he did not at all look like Dante.

The sales of his album had gone through the roof between the second the news picked up the story and them going to Lux. Derek wondered how he would react to that. It was Rossi who mentioned it in casual conversation, while they watched Lucifer and Delilah setting themselves up by the piano.

“Yes,” confirmed Davies sadly. “I’ve already set up a charity. All the winnings from _The Liar_ will go to the families of the victims of Ray’s machinations including treatment of Gina King. Dante’s dead. I’m never going to make music as him ever again. Fame and money aren’t worth the price.”

Derek nodded, his opinion of the man rising. He watched as Lucifer and Delilah giggled about whatever they were about to play. The singer then looked over and even from the distance, the profiler saw her facial expression becoming mischievous.

_You'll never know who you'll meet on you way to the top  
You'll probably see them again when your fame starts to drop  
Down down, I'll meet you on the ground  
It's no good with your hair and your shiny blue eyes  
It's no good when you finally start to realize  
I need something more  
This pretty face don't work no more_

_What happened to achieving  
What happened to believing in yourself  
Why listen to the musings of someone, somebody else  
I'm sorry I don't see and I can't quite believe it anymore  
What happened to believing that beauty's in the eye of the beholder_

Lucifer primarily played the piano and backed up her vocals beautifully.

“Ouch,” said Emily looking at Davies.

“I deserved that one,” said the musician ruefully.

But Delilah was not done.

_A poetic genius,  
It’s something I don't see,  
Why would a genius be trippin’ on me?_

_And there's looking and another,  
Why he can't see is that I'm looking through his eyes,  
So many lies behind his eyes.  
‘N tell me stories from your past,  
And sing me songs you wrote before._

_I tell you this, my Poison Prince,  
You'll soon be knocking on Heaven's door._

_Some kind of Poison Prince,  
With your eyes in a daze.  
Some kind of Poison Prince,  
Your life is like a maze._

_And what we all want and what we all crave,  
Is an upbeat song,  
So we can dance the night away._

_Who said life was easy,  
Who said life was fair,  
Who said nobody gived a damn,  
And nobody even cared._

_The way you're acting now,  
Like you left that all behind.  
You've given up,  
You've given in,  
And I'm a sucker of that kind._

_Some kind of Poison Prince,  
With your eyes in a daze.  
Some kind of Poison Prince,  
Your life is like a maze._

_And what we all want and what we all crave,  
Is an upbeat song,  
So we can dance the night away._

Delilah was laughing by the end of that last song nodding at Davies in an upbeat, challenging manner and he cautiously stood up approaching the two musicians already on stage. A microphone was put into his hands by one of the waitresses, but there was also a warning in the hand-gesture, which told Derek that the entirety of the club knew about his treatment of Delilah years prior.

_Tell me why this world is a mess  
I thought you always tried the best  
Tell me what am I to do, maybe you should do it too  
Tell me why they're sleeping alone  
No house, nowhere to call a home  
Tell me what I meant to see  
Won't you stop preaching at me_

_And I wanna see what is all about  
And I wanna live, wanna give something back_

_Don't tell me that it's over  
It's only just begun  
Don't tell me that it's over_

_All the money in the world would never set all the wrongs to right  
All the fire in the world will never set my heart alive  
A dream of the day, when it's all gone away  
And the sun is shining bright  
A dream of the day when it's all gone away  
The dreams are finite._

_Don't tell me that it's over  
It's only just begun  
Don't tell me that it's over_

_Don't tell me that it's over please I'm on my knees_  
I'm beggin you to stop.  
Please I'm on my knees, I'm beggin you to stop.

Davies joined in the second chorus, his low timbre balancing out Delilah’s high vocal range. Lucifer was not singing, instead he played like the devil smiling widely as he watched the two professional singers harmonize.

In spite of all expectations, Derek had to admit that he loved LA.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this episode for its glimpses of humor, the best one being when Emily, Morgan, Kim and Dante are surrounded by “journalists”/vultures and need to push through. Then Rossi appears to give a statement and this exchange between Emily and Morgan happens:  
> Emily: “Is he gonna be okay?”  
> Morgan: “He’s got a gun. Keep moving.”  
> Makes me laugh every time. It’s so deadpanned on Morgan’s side. It’s absolutely hilarious because it was kind of unexpected for me. Still makes me laugh. Couldn’t bring that here, though.
> 
> Rewatching the episode makes me think that Gina should have been suspected much earlier. Funnier tidbit, Gina King is played by Inbar Lavi: Eve from Lucifer. Good thing I would never use the Eve storyline, huh? :D :D: D
> 
> Song references:  
> Songs are all from Amy McDonald, a Scottish singer:  
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph7-BeEQW4Y  
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhDTVq8C-Yc  
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL4iDuzOCUM
> 
> References:  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenant  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire#Etymology  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_lifestyle  
> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6344795/  
> https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28193029/  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raman_spectroscopy


	3. s05e12: Uncanny Valley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David, Reid and the devil visit a child molester's office. The devil lets the young ones play first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short announcement:
> 
> I am trying my hands on original fiction for the first time in... years. After I've been so very productive in fan fiction these past 1.5 years with five completed novel-length stories for Lucifer, I thought, I'd give it another tried. That is to say, I am still going to write Lucifer (as shown with this chapter), but updates might slow down a little and I'll probably switch back and forth between Reverence for Life and my original fiction. For the Devil Files Boxes you won't notice much, since this is really just me rewatching, making notes and thinking about how Lucifer fits into this, but When The Fallen Angel Weeps will probably a bit longer than I thought.
> 
> My current plan is to write the Devil File Box during my vacation until the end of next week and then switch between Fallen Angel and my original fiction every week, so that updates hopefully come every two weeks or once per month... Or my original fiction idea will die as they have so many times before and I continue to do fan fiction "full-time".

Garcia was right. Samantha Malcolm was doomed from the start.

David did not like these cases, the ones where the UnSub’s mind was so far gone they did not understand what they were doing. Samantha Malcolm had undergone electroshock therapy at ten years of age after her mother’s death. The treatment likely caused permanent brain damage to the prefrontal cortex thus removing her ability to differentiate between life and death, or between belonging and loss, as Reid had predicted.

She had killed three women trying to repossess a doll collection she had lost.

Now, in the office of her father, a child psychiatrist and the one to subject his own daughter to nothing short of a method of torture, the reasons behind it all became crystal clear before even a word was spoken. Lucifer seemed to see right through him, but strangely enough, he remained silent, his eyes resting on Reid. The devil’s patience in that moment surprised David. Usually, his reaction to pedophiles was immediate and ruthless, but here, he waited, and although Dr. Arthur Malcolm had not quite confessed yet, everything about this sterile office with displayed children toys/trophies screamed what both David and Reid had suspected the second they had entered.

Perhaps, David was wrong. While Lucifer had a sixth sense for high crimes, it was still possible he could not see what they saw.

“My PhD is on the effect of trauma on prepubescent girls,” hissed Dr. Malcolm at Reid thinly veiled contempt. “I do not appreciate what you’re implying.”

“Oh, I'm not implying anything. I'm making an inference,” said Reid quietly, his rage boiling at the very surface and his brilliance becoming a deadly weapon in the form of tirade aimed at a pedophile. “An inference is an educated guess. And based on that, I form a hypothesis. For instance, my hypothesis here is that, after you raped your daughter, you submitted her to electroshock treatment to make sure she stayed quiet.”

“This is outrageous-“ Malcolm tried to defend himself, but there was no true emotion in that. He knew he was busted and Reid continued.

“And then, out of guilt, you bought her toys. More specifically, you bought her a line of dolls. Because that's what serial molesters do. They give gifts. So, you continued the pattern with your other patients, and once they left your care, you added their toys to your collection.”

“I'm sorry you can't back up your story, doctor,” was the smug reply and this time, David really looked at Lucifer. He was at the back of the room, not saying anything, not even reacting, a motionless statue that was simply watching the scene unfold. His eyes were still on Reid.

“This is why I love my job, _doctor_ ,” replied Reid, sneering at the title, which made David smirk in response. That miserable son of a bitch did not deserve that title. “Because my lab, it's a jury of your peers. My tests will be Jenny Larson, Abigail Moore, And Linda Krauss. The DA will put them on the stand, and I'm going to personally bring these dolls in, and we're going to watch how they react.” With that, Reid ripped away the toys and was ready to leave.

“Or you could tell us where your daughter is and we'll tell the DA you cooperated,” suggested Rossi before adding warningly. “But once we walk out this door, that deal comes off the table.”

Reid and Rossi were by the door when Malcolm blurted, “2529 Adams Street.” After a pause, continued, “You'll tell them, right? That I cooperated.”

“You want to know how I figured you out?” said Reid instead of answering. “Those toys. You take care of them. These are ones you treasured. But you know what? The collection's not complete. Where are they?”

With shaking hands, the ‘doctor’ opened a cabinet that contained a suitcase with Samantha’s dolls.

“Here,” said Malcolm shakily, giving the suitcase to Reid. “Here. Please, will you tell the DA I cooperated?”

“Sure, they will,” said Lucifer speaking up for the first time. “They always keep their word.” He then looked at them, his eyes dark and his lips forming a distinctly inhuman smile. “Well done, young one. It’s my turn now.”

Oh.

Without another word, the two profilers left.

“Let’s go help these women including Samantha,” said David while calling Hotch. “Hotch, we’ve got an address, heading there now: 2529 Adams Street. You can also send a couple of officers to Dr. Malcolm’s office. He’s confessed to his crimes.”

_“Will one of you stay to make sure he’s not going to run away?”_

A scream of terror shattered the silence behind them.

“Lucifer’s got it covered.”

_“Good,_ ” said Hotch. _“Did he give a timeframe?”_

The door opened and Lucifer head popped out, “One hour’s more than sufficient, Agent Hotchner.”

A sigh was audible on the other side of the phone.

_“Fifteen minutes. I don’t want to explain this one to Erin.”_

“Then send Agent Morgan ahead of Atlantic City police and we’ll be fine. He’s so wonderfully creative about his reports,” suggested Lucifer before closing the door behind him, which just barely muffled the screams for mercy.

_“Fair enough,”_ sighed Hotch. _“Dave, Reid, you’re closest to that address. Go.”_

And they did. David briefly patted the genius’ shoulders, “He’s right, you know. Well done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This episode was heartbreaking, but Reid was lovely in this one, both ruthless with Samantha's father and so very gentle with her.


	4. s05e13: Risky Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer spent some time in LA after finishing up the Davies case. He's just on time to finish up their next case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, thanks for reviewing and your encouraging comments. Will reply to your comments soon.
> 
> Another instalment of the Devil Files Boxes.

Lucifer stayed in LA after the Davies case. This was not unexpected because the devil had been planning a longer stay in his old home for quite some time. These plans had been delayed by the Hohenwald case and everything that happened after that, so Lucifer happily took the opportunity to stay in LA after they wrapped up their vampire case.

As much as the team missed the devil’s presence, Aaron was glad he was not here for this current case in Wyoming as it dealt with teen suicide and an UnSub tricking them into the action.

What started as a death investigation to exclude foul-play quickly escalated to a murder investigation. At first, they had suspected Christopher Summers, a high school student whose mother died a couple of years ago and who would have fit the profile if Reid had not identified a second, older and more sophisticated voice in the online blog that dared the teenagers into committing suicide by choking themselves.

Now they knew better.

The UnSub was Christopher Summers’ father Wilson Summers, a firefighter with Munchhausen by proxy syndrome who had arranged it so that he was always first on the scene while teenagers strangled themselves as a result of his manipulations. They now had reason to believe that Summers had brought his son to a chapel near the graveyard where Mrs. Summers’ was buried. Aaron was not quite sure what Summers had planned for his son after he downloaded his trophies – the tapes that showed the deaths of all of these children – but he feared that Christopher would not survive the night if they did not find them immediately.

They were on their way to the chapel when his phone rang.

“Hotchner.”

_“Oh, this town is depressing, Agent Hotchner_. _Please, tell me we’re not staying here for long. I so wish to return to the city.”_

Despite how dire the situation was, Aaron smiled.

“Lucifer, it’s good to hear you. Where are you?”

The answer was given and Aaron quickly realized that he was not too far from the chapel where they suspected Summers and his son.

“Listen, I’m sending you an address. Please, go there ASAP and don’t hang up on me. A boy’s life depends on you.”

_“I thought I’m not allowed to walk into an active crime scene by myself,”_ said Lucifer before he muttered a surprised, _“Oh, it’s a chape.”_

There was a pause.

_“Really, Agent Hotchner? Do I have to?”_

“Usually, I wouldn’t want you to go there all by yourself, but Christopher’s life is at risk and it’s going to take us another five minutes to get there.”

_“Fine, fine, but why does it have to be a chapel? I mean, it doesn’t really matter. It’s just a building used for worshipping Dad, but when I go in there, Dad might think I wish to talk to him, and no, there is nothing I have to say to him and-“_

“Lucifer.” The devil’s footsteps were interrupted by a creaking door and Aaron knew he was already there.

_“You, human,”_ he heard him continue. “ _Put your hands away from the boy’s neck.”_ There was a moment’s pause and then, Lucifer repeated his request, but his voice sounded deeper with an underlying growl that caused Aaron to shudder in response.

_“Thank you, now stay where you are and don’t try to run, while I approach the boy.”_ Lucifer’s steps were audible and the echo made it clear they were inside the chapel. _“Breathe, child, and sit down. An ambulance and my friends are on the way.”_

_“Dad.”_

Aaron closed his eyes. He had hoped Christopher would not reveal to Lucifer that Wilson Summers was his father.

_“No, devil, and Dad’s not-oh, your father. I don’t know, I haven’t been involved in this case, but I’m sure he’s terribly worried about you and will be so happy to hold you in his arms once he arrives with the agents.”_

_“No, no, he won’t,”_ Aaron heard Christopher say weakly and the profiler’s heart ached at Lucifer’s blind faith in the boy’s father. _“He doesn’t. He’s-“_

_“Wait,”_ said Lucifer confused. _“This hell-bound, pathetic cretin is your father? Your father was trying to kill you.”_

_“You don’t get it. This is mercy,”_ Christopher’s weak voice croaked, either from damage to the throat or because he was crying. _“I’ll see mom again.”_

_“Now first, don’t be an idiot,”_ countered Lucifer. _“Dying isn’t a way out. If you throw away your own life, I guarantee you that meeting your mother won’t be the thing you first see. Second, would you mind closing your eyes for a bit? I must talk to your father about good parenting techniques and I don’t wish to traumatize you.”_

_“I don’t understand,”_ said poor Christopher who sounded absolutely confused, hurt and disillusioned.

_“Long story short, gothic child: I’m the devil, you’re in my father’s house. Your father has broken the rules and I’m going to punish him for it. But I won’t be able to do so as long as- Human, there are 26 bones, 30 joints and more than 100 muscles in a foot. If you move as much as another muscle, I swear that I will break, crack and rip apart every single one of these structures before my dear agents arrive... Anyway, child, if you close your eyes. I can properly punish him.”_

_“FBI!”_ Aaron heard Morgan’s voice sound from the back, and he sighed in relief. _“Oh, Lucifer, good to see you. Thanks.”_

_“Agent Morgan,”_ said Lucifer, smiling broadly. _“Was this cretin responsible for the teenagers’ deaths? He was certainly willing to kill his own child in the process.”_

_“Yes, what he did was quite insidious, actually: he dared them to a choking game challenge while posing as a teen- Lucifer, let him go.”_

_“Why? Since he’s so fascinated with the high that comes from strangulation, I’m sure he’s interested in the experience.”_

_“Lucifer, let him go.”_

Dave had to have overheard the conversation because he drove even faster and came to a jerking halt in front of the chapel and they quickly rushed to the door. Inside the chapel, they had Emily with Christopher and Morgan with Lucifer and Summers whose legs were dangling in the air. The devil held him up by the throat looking furious. Morgan’s hands were grabbing Lucifer’s arm, fruitlessly trying to prevent the devil from strangling Summers.

“Lucifer, stop!” said Morgan letting go of Lucifer and lifting the UnSub’s feet up instead. Instead of letting go or trying to prevent Morgan from helping Summers, Lucifer simply squeezed a little more tightly causing the UnSub to choke.

“ _Relax_ , I’m not killing you, I’m just giving you the high you seek,” growled Lucifer. “Isn’t that what you desire? Making people choke themselves, trick them into harming themselves, hurting your own child? There’s a whole list of reasons why he needs punishment, Agent Morgan.”

“We’re not saying he doesn’t,” said Aaron urgently, “but if we assault him and he presses charges, he might walk free.”

“Oh,” said Lucifer and smiled menacingly, “but he’s not going to say word, is he? Are you? Will you tattle about my treatment of you?”

His eyes were a dark, burning red and Summers eyes looked like they might pop out of his skull any second. He vigorously shook his head in response, or as vigorously as it was possible with having a steady hand holding you up by the throat. “Tell me, why would you hurt your own child?” With that, Lucifer released his vice-like grip and Summers crumbled on the ground, heaving for breath. “ _Now_.”

“That whiny little brat?” croaked Summers maliciously. “I never wanted him. He was just a means for easy access to what I needed.”

“Ah, yes, children as mindless tools.” He looked up to the ceiling. “You hear that, Dad? You’re not the only one using us. What do you have to say to someone just like you?” He lightly pushed Summers who stumbled to the center of the chapel’s altar. “He even fled to a church, into _your_ arms. His soul’s mine. Do what you will with the rest of him.”

Petrified, Summers looked from Lucifer to the altar and back to Lucifer. What happened next was difficult to describe: one moment, Summers was at the foot of the altar on his knees looking scared and then he seemed to fall from the ceiling a second later. He slumped on the ground and was shivering violently without uttering a sound beyond a wayward whimper and heaving breaths.

“Huh,” was all Lucifer said coldly. “Gotta say, that was actually inspired, Dad.”

With that, he turned and walked out of the chapel, and – to Aaron’s great surprise – he walked up to Christopher Summers who looked dazed and hurt.

“He’s not you. You’re not him,” said Lucifer, almost gently. “Don’t let his actions define yours. He’s not worth your love and devotion. Be yourself. Be kind and gentle. The world isn’t as dark as he made it seem. Come back to the light.”

The teenager sat up a bit straighter and nodded jerkily.

Before the devil could turn his back entirely, he asked, “Who are you?”

“You know the answer to that,” said Lucifer.

“I’m not a devil worshipper,” Christopher Summers countered sharply. “I’m a Goth. I don’t believe in you.”

“All children of the night are mine, whether you believe in me or not,” scoffed Lucifer. “Let me just tell you that I’ve always been partial to sunlight.”

“Children of the night?” repeated Christopher, confused. “I don’t understand. Are you talking about Goth?”

“Not in the slightest. No, I’m talking about those who believe their only way out is ending it on their own terms. By ‘it’, I refer to your life. Suicide. You’ve been thinking about it, hell, you’ve coveted the thought as the ultimate path to freedom, and by doing so, your soul has become mine.” Lucifer’s face was an emotionless mask. “And I don’t want you. Stop believing that it would be a relief. It’s not. It’s really not. Whatever you’re running away from, whatever makes you think about ending your life, I guarantee you, is waiting for you on the other side. Don’t let it get you. Let the sunshine back in, child, and stop coveting the night. It doesn’t hold the comfort you think it does.”

* * *

After everything was in order and Christopher Summers was back in the hospital, still traumatized but more open and hopeful than they had ever seen him, and his father in jail – shaking uncontrollably and not speaking a word – they were back on the plane.

“What did he do to Summers?” asked Morgan.

“Dad?”

“Yes.”

“What do you need to breathe?”

“Air, atmosphere,” said Reid promptly.

“Dad gave him a taste of what happens when you can’t breathe,” said Lucifer. “In essence, he showed him a trailer of what’s to come, really, because his punishment after death won’t be much different.”

“So…” began Dave cautiously “Your father has been listening to you quite intently lately, wouldn’t you say?”

Lucifer’s expression was unreadable, “Too little, too late, Agent Rossi. Christopher Summers and I share quite a bit of history. We were both nothing but toys in our fathers’ hands; they threw us away the second we were no longer useful or refused to play a part in their games. I personally hope Mr. Summers will grow completely independent of his father and will find peace away from him. Heaven knows I’m still trying.” Morgan rose from his seat, sat down next to their favorite devil and hugged him fiercely.

“What about his victims?” asked JJ. “Their deaths weren’t intentional. Do you think…”

“As long as death wasn’t the endgame, their souls will have ended up in Heaven,” said Lucifer, “but I’ll check, just to be sure there wasn’t another crack for these children to fall through. I wished to check on Dromos anyhow, making sure he could reestablish himself without trouble.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Refs:  
> https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/about-arthritis/where-it-hurts/anatomy-of-the-foot


	5. s05e14: Parasite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of a con man case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really short and more a humorous snippet rather than a serious reflection on the episode. I rather enjoyed that one, but did not figure that Lucifer would change much in this episode.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Agent Goldmann for what felt like the hundredth time.

“Oh yes, I’m perfectly well, Agent Goldmann,” Lucifer soothed the distraught agent from San Diego’s white-collar team. “My suit is ruined, though.”

“Oh God, I’m paying for that.”

“Why are you dragging Dad into this?”

“Mr. Morningstar,” smiled Emily reminding the devil to mind his own identity just a tiny bit. It was important and a bit more urgent when he had just done something rather inhuman in front of three adult and one child witness. Yet, with his actions, Lucifer had saved the life of William Hodges, a con man who had systematically started to kill off his client list. He had stepped between Agent Goldmann and the UnSub, taking a shot to his back. They just barely managed to justify Lucifer’s uninjured state by claiming he had been wearing a vest. Thankfully, Goldmann was in white-collar crime and his experience with firefights was low enough not to realize that the shot should have still sent Lucifer to the ground.

Lucifer had not laid a hand on Hodges, though, saying that prison would be punishment enough for the time being, and everything could wait until after death.

While Emily made sure to soothe Hodges’ wife and client, she overheard Hotch talking to Lucifer saying that the devil could not simply step in the line of fire without at least warning them, and that this time around, Lucifer would have to help him with the after-action report. This, in turn, led to Lucifer playfully complaining about the upcoming paperwork. Their unit chief’s reprimand was slightly undercut by the ‘well done’ that ended this conversation once Agent Goldmann was out of earshot.

Once back at the precinct, Agent Goldmann approached Lucifer yet again.

“Mr. Morningstar, how much is that suit? I feel terrible for ruining it. I’m offering a personal refund.”

“This one? It’s one of my BAU suits, so it’s only a custom and not a bespoke suit. 1600 USD, if I remember correctly. Bank transfer or check?”

The look of sheer horror on Agent Goldmann’s face was tragically hilarious.

“Alternatively, my shy pepper-haired agent, is that you could buy me a drink.”

The look of horror did not lessen in the slightest in the face of Lucifer’s playful flirtations.

“I-I-I’m married.”

“Heavens! Agent Morgan, do I look like I want to jump him?”

“Nope, you look like a perfectly restrained, gorgeous young man who would jump anything that gives consent and is in the position to do so,” said Morgan, not even looking up from helping Reid putting the files in order.

“See? This is not to flirt with you, although I wouldn’t say no if you offered,” said Lucifer. “That is to say that my ruined suit has nothing to do with my alternative offer, and you shouldn’t feel pressured into having a drink with me just because you shot me.”

“What he’s trying to say is that he has more money that he knows what to do with, he’s fine, you don’t need to pay for the suit, and if you want, we could all go out for a drink before we return to our respective offices,” translated JJ, while patting Lucifer’s arm.

“Precisely.”

“Ah,” said Agent Goldmann, still wide-eyed and intimidated, but then he had been socially awkward and intimidated throughout the whole case. He knew his files and his con men, but his field work experience was fragmented at best. Still, it had been a pleasure working with the man. “I could do that.”


	6. s05e16: Mosley Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer and abusive mothers... There is little to add.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was such a creepy episode. Beth Grant plays the psycho like no other.

Emily had noticed that Hotch’s fallback approach to sending Lucifer into unknown situation with potential sinners was to send him alongside Morgan regardless of the other team member assigned. Usually, she would say this had to do with Hotch’s tendency to rely on the men rather than the women on his team, but since this approach was restricted to Morgan alone, Emily knew this was not the case.

She even understood why. Out of all of them, Morgan was the one with the most sway over Lucifer’s fury in the face of injustice. She was glad to have Lucifer with them, she truly was, but knocking on the house of 23 households charged with child abuse was a rather stressful endeavor with or without the devil by your side. Thankfully, Lucifer held himself back, but holding back still meant that they had one physically abusive family father jump out of the closed window ending up in the hospital, a mother convicted of abusing her three-year-old confessing how she never wanted children and would not mind to ‘watch the brat die’ and an another mother agreeing to giving up her five children to the state. Overall, it was a success, but Lucifer was getting angry with the amount of horrible parenting he was forced to witness.

Arriving at Mosley Lane had Emily so on edge, she almost asked Lucifer to remain in the car, but Morgan seemed to be having a good time; in fact, for all that Hotch had probably counted on Morgan curbing Lucifer’s enthusiasm for punishment, Morgan was encouraging Lucifer’s more wrathful side rather than soothe it; but then Hotch himself absolutely despised abusive parents, especially fathers, so the unit chief might have an active hand in putting Morgan and Lucifer together on this.

This was for Aimee Lynch and Charlie Hillridge and the ten other children abducted in the last decade. Emily shuddered at the thought that, without the help of Charlie’s mother, they would not have seen the connection between these abductions; Sarah had never given up on her son even eight years after his abduction, struggling with alcoholism, a divorce, having the custody of her daughter revoked and learning more about preferential sex offenders than even most law enforcement officers were forced to learn. Emily really respected that woman and she dearly hoped Charlie was safe and relatively well. The UnSubs were using the teenage boy as an accomplice in these abductions and Emily could only imagine the psychological toll this had taken on the boy.

“Roger Roycewood?” asked Emily. She hoped that this was the address they were looking for. The remote location certainly fit the profile.

The man was short, in his mid-fifties and he looked from Morgan, to Emily, to Lucifer. He swallowed dryly.

“Yes?”

“The children are in the basement,” said Lucifer, walked past the man and to a door that most likely led to the basement.

“You-you can’t,” stuttered Roycewood. The look the devil shot him was enough to shut him up. Lucifer then opened the door and disappeared inside.

“You go with him,” said Morgan. “Mr. Roycewood, a word?”

Emily ran after Lucifer who was not saying a single word.

A silent Lucifer was a dangerous Lucifer.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Lucifer grasped her hand warningly and continued to quickly walk downstairs. He opened a secret door as if it had called to him. Behind it was a woman with a gun in her hand, which she was pointing at a young girl Emily did not recognize. A boy, Charlie, was carrying Aimee Lynch’s unconscious body.

“FBI! Drop the gun and put your hands in the air!” snapped the profiler, pointing her gun at whom she assumed was Mrs. Roycewood.

“Now, why would I do that? What are you doing in my h-“

“Oh, do shut up and do as Agent Prentiss says,” said Lucifer.

Mrs. Roycewood did not listen, but before she could pull the trigger and before Emily could do anything to stop it, the weapon was in Lucifer’s hand, pulled apart and dropped to the ground, and the girl gently shoved in Charlie’s direction. Lucifer’s eyes were not red exactly, but his voice had dropped an octave.

“Let’s see: abduction and murder of children, forcing other children to participate in your sins, letting the families hope only to rip it from them, thus destroying what life they had from the inside out. That is a long list of sins.”

“Sins?” she repeated, her eyes wide.

“Of course, I could be biased,” said Lucifer. “After all, I’ve been listening to eight accounts of abysmal parenting if it can be called thus. My patience is at a low point. So, tell me why.”

“Why?” she repeated.

“Tell me why you’re taking children and bringing them here,” said Lucifer gesturing at the rooms behind her. “Why are you murdering them?”

“I do it because they’re _mine_ ,” she hissed. “They belong to _me_. ‘ _Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.’ ‘If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.’ ‘Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.’ ‘Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die-‘”_

“But they did!” roared Lucifer and she stumbled back before falling to the ground. His eyes flashed if only for a second. “They died. You are not their mother in the first place. You took them from their rightful parents and that means you broke at least three commandments including murder. So, don’t you dare use Scripture on me, woman, for every word you say can be countered using the same book.”

“Let’s go, Mrs. Roycewood.”

“Not so hasty,” interrupted Lucifer. “You still haven’t told me why.”

“Because they don’t deserve it,” hissed the UnSub spitefully. “All these happy faces, the _proud parents_ and their spoiled _brats_ , visiting festivals and parks and what-not. All these things I couldn’t have, things I couldn’t share because I’m _barren_. I took their brats from them because I’m a better mother than any of them. There would be no moaning and crying in my house.” She then smiled a truly psychotic smile. “I just wanted to be a mother.”

“Oh, yes, and you are,” said Lucifer, unimpressed. “You actually remind me of mine.” Then he smiled, “I think she’d like to meet you.”

With that, he took still unconscious Aimee from Charlie and said, “You were very brave, child. Come, your mother is waiting for you.” With that, he walked upstairs with the older kids in tow, and Emily followed with Mrs. Roycewood soon after.

Later on, they all had the privilege to observe the family reunions, though the moments were bittersweet with families who had to be informed of their children’s deaths. Of the twelve abducted children, only four returned, with the latest victim dying only the day before. Charlie tried to give the parents some comfort by talking to them about his lost siblings and it was beautiful to witness just how proud his mother was of him.

Sarah then approached them to thank them for believing in her.

Before she left, she asked, “You are surrounded by darkness. Why do you do it?”

It was Lucifer who answered, “Because darkness doesn’t deserve a moment’s peace. Because not even the greatest darkness can veil the light of the stars. And these people here, they bring the light with them, no matter where they go.”

Sarah nodded in agreement before returning to her ex-husband and son. Perhaps, this family could be repaired.

“What do you have planned for Mrs. Roycewood?” asked Morgan curiously. “I wasn’t there for the punishment and she looked relatively lucid.”

“Mum’s been quiet lately. She deserves a toy. You may think that Dad’s the punisher of the two and he certainly punished me, but Mum’s the creative one. I’m a lot like Dad, but in this aspect, I’m all her.” Lucifer smiled and Emily nodded, swallowing dryly. Morgan was right. Mum had to be terrifying and she did not at all envy Mrs. Roycewood.


	7. s05e19: A Rite of Passage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer calls Lucifer about a case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a snippet this time around in a "phone conversation" style that I'm not used to, but as you know, the Devil Files are also a way for me to play with styles.
> 
> Thank you for all your comments, will respond soon.

_“Dr. Reid, this is a surprise. Do you need anything from Las Vegas? I planned on visiting your mother tomorrow night.”_

“Oh, do send her my love, but this isn’t the reason I’m calling you.”

_“I’m listening.”_

“We’re in Texas, as you know and-“

_“Do you need me_?”

“No, no, we’re fine, just… Santa Muerte, real or not?”

_“You’ve met her. She’s my sister.”_

“No, I meant, is there a Santa Muerte, Patron Saint of Death-?”

_“Protector of murderers and drug cartels? No. Azrael is often the receiver of prayers aimed at Santa Muerte, however, be they for safe passage of the soul to the afterlife or for protection. What the Mexican drug cartels pray to, however, isn’t my sister. They inadvertently pray to other deities known to personify death: Astwihād, Hel, good old Grim, Thanatos, King Yama, you name it, they heard such prayers. Most have left Earth, though, and don’t bother responding. The rest usually lets Hell know about the nature of these prayers and we prepare the rooms ahead of time.”_

“Do some of them pray to you personally?”

_“Even the most foolish of sinners know better than to pray to me confessing their crimes, for I just might appear at their doorstep, Dr. Reid.”_

“I see. Thanks for the help… Human UnSub it is.”

_“Do you need my help?”_

“We’re fine, really. We just wanted to make sure this was nothing supernatural.”

_“Ah, well, if it turns out to be, pray to me or Azrael. She owes me and death is her domain.”_

“Will do, thanks, Lucifer. Give my best to Candy.”

_“Will do. All my best to the others. I’ll see you soon.”_

“Bye.”

_“Goodbye.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reference:  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_(personification)


	8. s05e20: A Thousand Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A serial killer tattooed with the faces of his victims. The case would normally horrify Jennifer, but she found that Lucifer brought a certain lightness to the darkness they faced, once again proofing why he was called the Lightbringer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Nasty case, but hey, it’s Criminal Minds. Nothing explicit, but some triggers in the first couple of sentences.
> 
> Once again, this is very short, and - given the case - rather light. I needed something light, and I hope so do you. Have a great weekend!

The case had been absolutely brutal: a rapist-turned-serial-killer who had been to prison and learned not to leave any witnesses. He abducted one victim a year, violated them for a year in seclusion and tattooed their faces on his body after he killed them. The only reason they found him was that he committed suicide leaving all evidence quite literally pasted on the wall. When they arrived, a young woman, Rebecca Daniels, had been missing and her face was also on said wall. Unsurprisingly, they were called in.

The case wall kinds of nightmare-inducing, but Lucifer had such a horrifically beautiful way of putting things into perspective.

_“Have you seen anything like this before?”_

A member of the local police department had asked only to be answered by Lucifer with a brief, _“Oh certainly, he wasn’t very imaginative.”_

This was soon followed by a comment that would actually help their case.

_“He offed himself? Wonderful, that makes my work so much easier. I mean, not that there was any chance for that cretin to end up anywhere but Hell, but still, it is appreciated.”_

_“Mr. Fletcher, you’re a man of God then?”_ had Detective Barton asked. _“I wouldn’t have guessed it.”_

_“Oh, I am of God, detective,”_ Lucifer had replied coldly. _“Denial is fruitless, no matter how much that thought burns. Now the question remains whether the child has already been born.”_

_“What child?”_

It turned out that Lucifer could see the invisible ink painted on the UnSub and with that, and thanks to the speed both he and Reid read through these journals, they quickly found out that the UnSub had a female partner expecting a child. That, together with Rossi and Emily finding out that he had been to prison led them to the name of the dead UnSub, Robert Matthew Burke, and his partner Juliet Monroe.

Less than an hour later, they found her in her family home giving birth to a child, and a terrified Rebecca Daniels, attempting to help her captor.

Despite their timely arrival, however, Monroe still died in the hospital from internal bleeding.

Jennifer noticed that Lucifer did not feel nearly as much sympathy for the abused woman who had turned to Burke for support compared to the rest of the team.

_“If she had been unaware of his actions, she would deserve my consideration, but she agreed, she looked away and she even aided in the pain he inflicted on his victims. Don’t expect me to pity her. She had a choice. It was her choice to aid a rapist and murderer. She will suffer the consequences.”_

Jennifer could not fault the devil for that, even though it was painful to hear. Burke’s submissive partner had suffered a lifetime of trauma, only to suffer even more in the afterlife. Thankfully, he could alleviate Jennifer’s personal fears regarding the baby.

_“What do you think will happen to him?”_ she had asked on the plane later that day. _“I mean, the environment is important, but with such parents… how can he overcome that?”_

Both Hotch and Rossi helped by saying that many serial killers had children, and that they usually turned out fine if they grew up with a loving home away from the bad seed they came from, but it was Lucifer who put her mind at ease.

_“There is no influx of damned visitors that come from families with serial killers, at least not in my experience, Agent Jareau.”_ He had answered.

She smiled at the devil and started grinning when he gleefully watched Emily win against Reid at poker, an event so rare it stopped all conversation on the plane.

“Now, Agent Prentiss, are you ready to play cards with the devil?” he smiled.

“I’m pretty sure there are songs and books and paintings warning humans about doing just that,” she grinned.

“Oh, but they were just sore losers. _Sin to Win_ , Agent Prentiss, I’m just offering some practice for your trip to Atlantic City,” his smile was so wide and playfully suggestive that Emily laughed in return.

“Do sit down. JJ, wanna join?” she asked.

Why not?

This case had rattled her, but she found it was all bearable with this team by her side.

Ultimately, they played Team of Profilers against the Devil.

He thoroughly beat them all the way back to Washington, though once they came close, and the smile he bestowed them with in return was infectious in the best of sense.


	9. s05e21: Exit Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team is in Franklin, Alaska. The devil joins later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, that's it with this box.  
> Next week, I'm extremely busy and then I will write some original fic. After that, I'll plan the next instalment, so please don't expect much from my side in the next two to three week.
> 
> Thank you so much for your support.
> 
> WARNING: this was a nasty episode, yet again.

Franklin, AK, was one of the most beautiful places on Earth and Derek wanted to leave as soon as possible.

“I felt him leave. One moment he was here and the next, he was gone.”

His babygirl was so upset. He tried to help her, he tried to be there for her, but the grief was too near and she nearly broke his heart when her response to his questions was met with a sharp, cold, “No! No cognitive interview, breaking down someone’s death to a science. That’s your world, not mine.”

Did she truly think that this was what he did? Did she think him unfeeling and unsympathetic toward a victim’s trauma?

He knew she did not. It hurt nevertheless.

JJ told him to let her go, and he did, but unhappily so.

God, he wanted to leave.

Paradise Lost.

The devil was not with them, though. He would have helped.

* * *

Penelope wanted out.

Out of this inn, out of this town, out of this state.

She knew the state and its citizens were not at fault for any of this. She was sure that 99.999 (Reid would know many nines exactly) percent of people were lovely, kind and sweet and deserved her love, but this one guy, he had to ruin it all.

She wanted out and she did not want to see Craig Ramey’s face whenever she closed her eyes.

She just wanted to go home.

* * *

Alaska was cold and beautiful. David loved it, but the horror that walked through these woods was a lot to take in, even for someone as seasoned as he was.

Not wanting to take any more chances after they found the mutilated body just outside of the inn where they stayed, he picked up his phone. Then he shook his own head, pocketed the phone again and folded his hands, lowering his head.

“ _Lucifer_?” he prayed. “ _I’m sorry for cutting your trip to Firenze short, but we need you. Penelope just had to witness something terrible and the whole team is uns-_ ”

The devil stood by his side a moment later stepping out of the shadows as if it was nothing. David almost entirely sure that Lucifer should not be able to pinpoint him when he was on the other side of the Atlantic seconds before, but then, Lucifer was tightlipped at best when it came to what he could do.

“Please, go to Anchorage,” said David instead of a greeting. “There, you can take a floatplane to Franklin. I’ll announce you. It shouldn’t be possible for you to be here.”

“How’s Ms. Garcia?”

“Frightened, angry, breezing through the stages of grief in record time. Morgan’s been with her, but she’s not well. She’ll recover from this, though. She wasn’t hurt physically, but she watched someone die.”

“Her first? She thankfully wasn’t there when her parents died.”

David nodded causing Lucifer to sigh sadly, “I’ll see you soon.”

With that, he disappeared and Dave called Aaron.

“I called in the reinforcements.”

_“Good. I’ll have a plane ready.”_

David felt better knowing that Lucifer would soon be with them, but he still wanted to leave as soon as possible. Now he needed to talk to Roy Colson. If that man did not figure out that Lucifer was the devil within the next six or seven cases, David would start to doubt the journalist’s abilities.

* * *

Jennifer was hugging Penelope whom she had found on her bed crying.

“Morgan didn’t-“ she began, but was interrupted.

“I know, I know! I didn’t mean to imply he was unfeeling,” Penelope sobbed. “I didn’t, I swear, but, JJ, you should have seen the man, he was so frightened. How do they cope with that? How can they just continue work as if some innocent soul hadn’t just left Earth prematurely?”

Jennifer did not know either.

Not yet.

One day, she might.

Right now, it was her job to keep any distractions off the profilers’ backs.

They trusted her to do that.

She wondered whether, if Penelope heard her thoughts, she would think her cold as well.

She really did not want to be here.

* * *

“He fits the profile,” said Spencer recalling facts about Joshua Breadsley. “Abandonment issue triggered by his father's recent death, hunting experience, experimentation with animals-“

“You arrested my son?”

Mrs. Breadsley’s voice explained Emily’s interjection to his list.

The innkeeper’s expression was cold and incredulous. Spencer was grateful for Morgan explaining everything in that calm voice of his, but Mrs. Breadsley was unwilling to listen, and walked away, as coolly as the average temperature in Franklin (55.1 °F).

He wanted to leave.

“Who was that chilly lady?”

“Lucifer!”

Spencer noticed how everyone breathed for the first time since Garcia walked out of that inn holding a dying man in her arms and thus almost coming into contact with their UnSub.

“We just accused her son of murdering several people,” said JJ.

“Oh well, if that’s all,” said he lightly, looking playful, but his eyes were on Garcia. “Ms. Garcia, how are you feeling?”

Instead of answering, she quickly ran over and hugged the stuffing out of the devil.

Spencer felt better. He still wanted this case to be over.

* * *

Emily stared at the mutilated body of their innkeeper and wondered if this was what her own personal Hell would look like: an endless stream of dead bodies left behind by serial killers who got off on killing their victims and her being unable to stop them.

They were looking for a psychopathic teenager with severe abandonment issues and oh, Lucifer’s expression when the team came to the realization that abandonment issues and loneliness were a major factor for the UnSub’s actions would not leave her anytime soon!

_“Abandonment made him a serial killer, Agent Hotchner? Give me a break. I spent eons alone in a crater. I know loneliness. It doesn’t breed cruelty. Just pain.”_

She was so glad that the devil had no psychopathic tendencies.

She wanted this case to be over soon.

Unknowingly, this UnSub had first rattled the team through hurting Penelope and now they were all reeling, and – as if that were not enough – then managed to speak to Lucifer’s darkest thoughts. Emily hoped they would have time to heal after all that. _God_ – the damned bastard – knew they needed it, especially Lucifer, after the mess that had been DC after the Hohenwald case. He barely spoke about, seemed to be fine for the most part, but Lucifer not talking about his pain was a problem.

The devil had gone to Firenze to bring some of Leonardo Da Vinci’s items from the treasure trove that was the Order _Adversus Adversarius’_ archive, and possibly to find some sort of closure or some new memories. Instead of letting him do that, they had to call him in prematurely.

None of this was good.

* * *

Aaron knew better than to take Lucifer to the Porters.

Owen Porter, their UnSub, had been physically abused by his father, and while it was not the man’s fault that their son was a psychopath, his treatment of the boy had certainly helped forming him into the deadly, merciless manhunter he was today.

And that was why he had Lucifer stay with Penelope, both because he knew that the devil could actually help her and because he needed Porter coherent.

When Aaron entered that house, and Mr. Porter’s dominant and aggressive behavior became more than just apparent, the unit chief was glad that Lucifer was not with them.

The unit chief would hate holding back.

Pushing the man into his own home, he started talking to the mother whose very behavior reminded him so much of Aaron’s own, it took all of his self-control not to hurt Owen Porter’s father. Aaron knew how to make her talk, and as much as he disliked being harsh and dominant, and so much like his own father it burned him, his questions were cold, assertive and brooked no room for argument.

She confessed immediately.

Porter’s “ _Don’t tell him anything, Martha_ ” was shot down by a sharp “ _sit down and shut up!_ ” on his side.

When he left with the sheriff, Aaron felt sick. They had the information they needed, surely, but – just like Lucifer – while he hated acting like his father, he was extremely good doing it.

They soon found out that Owen Porter was being hunted by the men in town, led by Joshua Breadsley, the last victim’s son and Owen’s former honorary big brother whose departure from town had induced the very abandonment issues that now had caused him to kill others. When the deputy gave them this information, and Morgan led the team into the woods, Aaron knew he would have to go back in there, intimidating Martha Porter yet again into telling him where her son found refuge.

He did not have the heart for it.

 _“Lucifer,”_ he prayed. _“They’re hunting Owen Porter. Can you find the hunting party and stop them?”_

He would explain it all to Roy Colson. Aaron was being selfish, he knew, but seeing Martha and her husband were stark reminders just how much in common Aaron had with quite a few people they were trying to catch. His father had been a very cruel man, and he would spend the rest of his life defying him by not becoming him. Talking to men like Mr. Porter and battered wives like Martha, however, always reminded him just how easily he could become the man he despised most.

* * *

“What’s the difference between being strong and being jaded?” Lucifer heard Ms. Garcia’s desperate query to Agent Morgan.

The devil had no answer to that. When Agent Hotchner had told him to stay with Ms. Garcia, he had simply done his best to distract her, and to answer her questions about souls and death, and souls leaving the body. He could answer these questions, and he was almost relieved to see that it helped her understand Lucifer’s absolute indifference to corpses. They were shells, and nothing more. Hearing her ask Agent Morgan that question made him wonder whether he had failed in easing her pain.

At the very least, he had been able to stop the hunting party – by putting the fear of the devil into them – while the others caught up with the black hole… A tiny one. Lucifer had seen much worse psychopaths. After all, Owen Porter had felt some sort of affection for his mother and for Joshua Breadsley, however selfish these feelings had been. Lucifer had succeeded in that area and thus the area of punishment, but he had not been able to ease Ms. Garcia’s crisis, it seemed.

“You’re in one of the most beautiful places on Earth,” Lucifer heard Agent Morgan say. “You see that, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you don’t have to worry. You see the beauty in everything and everyone no matter where you go. That part of you is never gonna change, and I won't let it,” he vowed. It was a vow, a promise so profound it carved itself into the profiler’s soul.

“I don't need you to protect me,” she scoffed.

“Tough. I think I'm gonna stay on the job a little while longer,” he teased her.

“Yeah?”

His hum was affirmative.

“How much longer?” she asked.

“Every day of my life.”

“I kind of love you, Derek Morgan,” she sighed, letting the profiler hug her.

“I kinda love you, Penelope Garcia,” he replied kindly.

Lucifer smile and quietly stepped away, making absolutely sure they would not hear him. These two were fine. Now he had to talk to Agent Hotchner. He had looked very unhappy, and Lucifer was unsure why.

The sun’s song called to him and Lucifer smiled.

Agent Morgan was correct. This little part of the world was beautiful, and he would not mind staying a bit longer.

* * *

_Report To The Editor, Bob Sullivan_

_Bob,_

_Please find my report attached._

_For all that this case once again demonstrated why this BAU team belongs to FBI’s finest and bravest, the report primarily concerns team dynamics._

_This case taught me that this group of people, they are not just friends and colleagues, they are a close-knit family. When one of them hurts, the whole team bleeds, and they are there for each other until the wound is mended._

_For details, please see the case summary and my observations._

**Notebook 1, Personal Note 34, November 2, 2016**

I feel like an intruder.

Ms. Garcia has fallen asleep, her head leaning on Agent Morgan’s shoulder. Dr. Reid is reading a book. Agents Hotchner and Rossi are talking in low voices, while Agent Prentiss is talking to Mr. Morningstar and Agent Jareau in another corner.

They should not have to. This is their plane, their opportunity to decompress from a case that rattled them, but here I am, making it impossible for them to talk to each other.

Note added, Nov 2, 2.45 AM

I feel like there is something they are not telling me, based on this overheard conversation:

AEP: “How’s Firenze?”

LM: “I haven’t really been there since Leonardo left Florence, so… there’s that. Much busier than I remember. Lots of tourists.”

AJJ: “How did the museum react?”

LM: “The curator looked like she wanted to kiss me, and I am not sure whether she desired me in any way, shape or form.”

AEP (laughing): “You made her decade with that, Lucifer.”

LM: “She said something along those lines and asked for my number. But she wasn’t asking for sex, I think. Very strange. She is very fascinated by the topic of language through imagery, so I also gave her Olivia Thomson’s office information. There seems to be a common theme between people not being attracted to me and my language skills.”

AEP (laughing): “Poor devil. What will become of you?”

Attachment, Nov 2, 3 AM:

ADR: “Anybody suspected anything?”

AAH: “No. Joshua has not looked Lucifer in the eye since, though. And he vowed never to hunt again.”

ADR: “Ah. No more ‘eating the life-force of your prey’, then.”

AAH: “No. He saw the light so to speak. Not that Lucifer’s got any problems with hunting in general, but he dislikes the idea of people taking pleasure in the kill the way Joshua used to. Especially since he was so willing to hunt down another human being just because ‘he felt sad’.”

ADR: “Lucifer’s words.”

AAH: “Yeah.”

ADR: “Ouch.”

AAH: “Yeah.”

Further investigation necessary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roy Colson Notes:
> 
> AEP: Agent Emily Prentiss  
> AJJ: Agent Jennifer Jareau  
> AAH: Agent Aaron Hotchner  
> ADR: Agent David Rossi


End file.
